Grammar For You

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An Approach to ICSE English provides a platform to contribute, discuss and comment on the various issues related to the study and practice of English for the students and teachers of ICSE syllabus. Even with its focussed nature, An Approach to ICSE English will be beneficial to everyone involved in the learning of the niceties of the English language.

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Question 1Write a letter to the Customer Care Executive of a Book Publisher in New Delhi complaining about a book you have ordered delivered to you in damaged condition. Explain the nature of the damage and request him to replace it without further delay.Question 2

Read the following passage and answer the questions a, b, c and d that follow:A list of queries on email asks recipients to name the world’s richest man in 2008; the winner of the world’s golf title in 2007; the designer of the first rockets; the manufacturer of the first bicycle and so on? building up a roll call of achievers who left their mark on mankind. It ended with, “Who was the teacher who helped you to enjoy school and whom you remember most vividly?” I don’t know a single recipient of the email who answered a single one of the questions except the last. In other words, everyone’s most unforgettable person was a supportive and encouraging teacher whose wealth, fame and social standing mattered not at all. What the grateful student received was beyond evaluation because what the teacher gave most freely was the precious gift of the self. It was not just knowledge to pass an examination that they gave their students but an understanding of the value of knowledge itself and a love of it. Great teachers seek to form, not merely inform their students. Today, when teaching (especially teaching young children who have not learned to write) is no longer a coveted profession, I wish we could all pay a silent tribute to the many obscure men and women who shaped our lives and asked for so little in return. Surely, a good teacher deserves to be called a deva because the real meaning of the word is “the shining one”. Every year, choosing a day when it is not functioning, my cousin visits his old school. The building and compound are much the same as they were when he was a student, so the sense of stepping back into the past is powerful. He moves from classroom to classroom following the exact progression his student-graph had taken him more than half a century ago, and pays a silent tribute to each of the teachers, intensely recalling those impoverished gentlemen whose wardrobes had hardly held more than two shirts. What still moves him is the memory of the care they had taken in the lives and progress of every student, encouraging each of them and guiding every child to do his best and then some. A drop in concentration or performance led to the “master” calling on the child’s parents to enquire if there was something wrong at home which the child found disturbing or was unable to cope with; very few homes had phones in those days and even if they did, a school-teacher would certainly not have been able to afford a phone call. So, umbrella held high, he would walk those extra miles. My first teacher was a smiling and very gentle woman named Mrs. Delamose, whose name my brother and I repeated over and over again to get it right so that we might greet her correctly: “delamosedelamosedelamose”. I still recall her dark eyes, and charming crooked smile with faint streaks of lipstick out of place, as she led us through Songs the Letters Sing. She was a true teacher who believed that every single child is unique and that there is no such thing as an unintelligent child I owe my profession to her. a) Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage: [3]1. Supportive2. Coveted3. to cope withb) Answer the questions given below in your own words.1. Who is the most unforgettable person in everyone’s life? Why?2. What do great teachers seek?3. When does the writer’s cousin visit his old school? What does he feel then?4. Describe the writer’s first teacher.5. What does a true teacher believe in?c) Summarise in 60 words the qualities that make a teacher unforgettable.d) Give a suitable title to the summary and justify the choice of the title.Question 3a) Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given after each of them, Make other changes necessary, but do not change the meaning of the sentence.1. Emily was waiting for the train. She was reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace.(Combine the two without using and or but) 2. Saroja sang well. She received the first prize. (Begin: Not only ….)3. The porter said to me “I will take your luggage to the retiring room provided you give me a good tip?” (Change the narration.)4. If Ajay gets a scholarship, his parents will be elated. (Use ‘unless’ in place of ‘if’)5. The children were spellbound by the exceptional sight of an elephant bathing. (Change the voice)6. The protesters turned violent. Immediately the police blocked the roads. (Use: No sooner….)7. The film was so dreary to me that I will not recommend it to anyone.(Use: too)8. Our football team is one of the favourites in the tournament. (Begin: Very few…..)9. Those that are hapless ought to have our sympathy. [Begin: The helpless…]10. The reason for his sudden departure is a mystery. [ Rewrite using ‘why’)b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions.1. Let us begin …….. the first poem.2. They do not approve……. your action in the matter.3. He is rarely attentive ….. his lessons.4. Marsha deals …… handloom saris.5. Martin’s friends stood ……him during his lean days.6. The teacher sent her a letter of appreciation …… mistake.7. The old noisy old car often goes out …… order.8. Hardy’s outlook …… life is quite optimistic.9. He agreed …… his partners on the idea of launching a new project.10. She has been suffering from Pneumonia …… last week.11. The doctor cured her …… the illness.12. The old lady prepared herself for a life …… loneliness.13. The police are looking …… the matter.14. He is not entitled …… rent and profit.15. Please, write ……ink; do not write ……pencil.Answers are given below.